'Lack of [#NHSEngland] #ICUcapacity was ‘political choice’, #ChrisWhitty tells #CovidInquiry – #UK politics live

#ChiefMedicalOfficer #England] tells #Covid19 inquiry that UK had ‘very low’ capacity compared with other wealthy countries'

'The main thing we could do at the beginning, before we understood it slightly better, was to reduce the amount of Covid. If you don’t get Covid, you don’t get #LongCovid.'
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/sep/26/uk-politics-labour-keir-starmer-un-general-assembly-speech
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy

'Doctor in tears at #CovidInquiry says what #NHS staff saw was ‘indescribable’

#ProfKevinFong, who was on shift during 7/7 bombings, says height of pandemic was like a ‘#TerroristAttackEveryDay’'

'data that officials in #London relied upon to understand how hospitals were faring failed to capture the reality of the crisis on the frontline, he said, with some hospitals “bursting at the seams” & close to “a state of collapse”.'
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/sep/26/doctor-in-tears-at-covid-inquiry-says-what-nhs-staff-saw-was-indescribable
#COVID19 #NHSEngland #ToryPoliciesInAction

#Corporate #UK #TaxBreaks to cost £20bn more than they generate, study finds

Exclusive: Relief rolled out in 2023 will cost £30bn in taxes but spur only up to £10.5bn investment, analysis shows
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/22/corporate-uk-tax-breaks-to-cost-20bn-more-than-they-generate-study-finds
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy

#CovidInquiry

#Johnson and #Hancock accused of making ‘false’ #NHS claims

Inquiry told how #NHS entered #pandemic with high nursing vacancies and low number of critical care beds
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/sep/09/boris-johnson-matt-hancock-criticised-covid-inquiry-nhs
#ToryPoliciesInAction #NHSEngland #BreakAndPrivstise #Covid19

#Sunak’s Government Did Not Know How #Schools Spent £9.2 Billion a Year Allocated to Help #DisadvantagedChildren

‘There has been a lack of sustained progress by government in reducing the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers’, a new report by the #NationalAuditOffice has found
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/07/24/sunaks-government-did-not-know-how-schools-spent-9-2-billion-a-year-allocated-to-help-disadvantaged-children/

#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy

#Homelessness in #England at highest level on record, watchdog says

#NationalAuditOffice report on #Tory government’s attempts to tackle problem finds situation has worsened since 2017
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/23/homelessness-england-highest-level-on-record-national-audit-office-report
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryIndifference #ToryLegacy

'#NHSEngland finances so dire that whole service may collapse, says spending watchdog

#NationalAuditOffice says
years of #underfunding have left the NHS in England so cash-strapped that it cannot treat patients quickly enough, and the rising tide of ill-health will make matters worse, the #NationalAuditOffice (#NAO) said'
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/23/nhs-finances-so-dire-that-whole-service-may-collapse-says-spending-watchdog
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy #UnderfundingPublicServices

#CareQualityCommission (#CQC)

‘National disgrace’: #BlackMothers in #England twice as likely to have #NHSEngland birth investigated

Exclusive: head of #RoyalCollegeOfMidwives blames ‘InstitutionalRacism’ as black women face greater risk of #death and #stillbirth
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/23/national-disgrace-black-mothers-in-england-twice-as-likely-to-have-nhs-birth-investigated
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy